The Southeast Acoustics Consortium (SEAC) held its third biennial forum at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission office in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 22-24. Over fifty participants heard presentations on research applications using high-frequency sonars for surveying marine organisms, mapping seafloor habitats, enhancing ocean observatories, and using ambient noise to study natural soundscapes […]

Increased use of our coastal ocean for energy, commerce, and recreation is calling for improved data to support ocean planning and ecosystem management. The baseline condition and characterization of seafloor habitats is an important base layer needed for minimizing impacts to natural resources. During the March 15-16 workshop hosted by NCCOS, Southeast and Caribbean Regional […]

A report published by NCCOS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provides the most comprehensive ecological study of an offshore Wind Energy Area (WEA) near Wilmington, NC. The Outer Continental Shelf located off of North Carolina has some of the best conditions to support offshore wind energy in the southeast U.S., according to […]

For the first time, NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will work together to conduct a survey of North Carolina and South Carolina residents on their support of proposed wind farm development off their coasts. Theresa Goedeke, a social scientist with NCCOS, told Greenwire that they “would like to understand how residents’ knowledge, […]

Last month, the NOAA Beaufort Lab received two high level visitors: David Holst, the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of NOS, and Mary Erickson, the Director of NCCOS. The NOAA campus in Beaufort, North Carolina houses researchers from the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOS’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and […]

Public perception is often a large barrier for coastal aquaculture in the United States. Citizens are uncertain of the visual impacts and the potential conflicts with other ocean uses. The first step to address these uncertainties is to illustrate the impact on the seascape. In response, NCCOS and NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management partnered to develop […]

Preliminary results from the fourth and final Coral Ecosystem Connectivity expedition (22 August – 4 September 2015) to Pulley Ridge (off the southwest coast of Florida) show the new coral area discovered in 2014 is two times larger than previously thought. Pulley Ridge, the deepest photosynthetic reef off the continental U.S., is one of the […]